[Mode_media]

well, i would have a dedicated person to set up and monitor things. i want to be able to record each individual track (i.e. vocals, amps, drums etc.) thats coming through the board and mix it to my liking in post. i have some friends in a pretty well known band and they were recording a live album at a small venue and they had a guy from the recording studio they record at set up at the soundboard with a protools rig recording and the final product sounded great. i just didnt get a chance to talk to the guy about what exactly he was using…but he did it all on a G4 laptop. i’ll look into an M-box.

whats the difference between the M-box and the Digi Rack?

[Mode_media]

hmm, well, i ve done some looking around and let me give you my situation in a nutshell. and see if this is a do-able thing for me.

basically i’m working with a few local bands. i’m shooting a few shows and taking one or two songs from the different shows and making a “live” compilation DVD featuring these bands.

i’m shooting with 4 cameras (sony vx2000). 2 are stationary and 2 hand handheld.

i’d like to keep this as simple as possible…hence using a DAT recording. shoot the video, and use a soundboard recording to go along with it, cuz, like i said…the camera audio sounds like crap. but it seems like the DAT is too “iffy”. i wanna have total control over the audio. and do what i need to do in post. i’m using Apple Soundtrack Pro, and i know it supports many audio file types. i’d like to import each track and do what i need to do and make a final mixdown, then import that into my video editing app, to go along with the video. i dont really have the time or money to buy all these extra mics and all that.

i’ve looked around at 8 track digital recorders and it seems that something like the Tascam DP-01FX or one similar would fit my needs, and the venus i’m shooting at have good sound systems and i think they’d be able to accomodate a piece of equipment like that.

i want a good quality recording, but it doesnt have to be all “super professional studio” sounding…you know?

is this a piece of equipment that would be worth buying and be able to handle what i’m trying to do?

like i said….i wanna keep this as simple and as inexpensive as possible, but still get good enough sound.

i think thats it.

i appreciate all the advice so far.

[Mode_media]

i took into account what you said about a 4 track recorder and i’m looking into a small digital one that records to a hard disk. it just seems that using a DAT is too “iffy” and i want to have complete control over what i’m recording. basically what i want to do is get a recording from the soundboard and import that into whatever sound editing app. i use, which is usually Soundtrack Pro, and do what i need to do and get a final mixdown. i’ve done a bit of research into it and i assume thats how it works. like i said, i’m a bit new to dealing with recording live sound, but i plan on shooting bands, and using a soundboard recording to go along with the video, instead of camera audio, which we all know is no good. just a few questions i have if you dont mind answering.

most of the bands i shoot are 4-5 piece…would a 4 track be good, or should i go with 8?
what should i look for when looking at 4/8 track recorders?
would i set the mix the same as the main soundboard, or leave it flat and do my own mix in post?
what kind of audio file do they get saved as…wav, aiff, etc.?

thank you for your help